And here’s another emergency from Gov. Perry

With the end of the legislative session looming, Gov. Rick Perry declared lawsuit reform an emergency item to give his “loser pays” bill a boost.

House Bill 274 got sidetracked Thursday but now is at the top of the House’s list as the only item on its “emergency calendar” for Saturday. That’s important because deadlines for considering legislation begin kicking in next week.

“Tort reform legislation has always been a priority,” said Perry spokeswoman Catherine Frazier by e-mail. “It’s important the legislature address this issue which is important to keeping our economy strong and bringing jobs to Texas.”

Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, asked presiding Sen. Steve Ogden, D-Bryan, whether the declaration had any effect on the Senate at this point.

“It has no impact on the Senate at this point in the session,” Ogden said.